Recently at Bakerstown United Methodist Church,
we started a small group studying the effects of
teenagers retaining their faith in Christ through college and into adulthood. Many parents have
struggled with their children giving up on church, even though their childhood was filled with
Sunday School, Vacation Bible School (VBS), good church attendance and more.

Based upon the book, Sticky Faith, we started to delve into the primary causes that drive
them away from Christ. The book mentions that 50% of Christian youth, from ages 18-24, never return
to the faith. A large portion of them were very active in church activities, good wholesome people
that found their faith no longer mattered to them.

While some parents would scoff at the reasoning that their child would lose their faith, the fact
of the matter is: if you are a parent of two children, there’s an excellent chance that one of them
will be counted in the departure statistics. Though that statistic can be disheartening, you don’t
have to go off and overreact in an attempt to prevent them from leaving the church.

The book teaches us about the power of prayer and trusting in God. Pray for your children every
day. Pray with your children every day. Find time before meals, whether that’s breakfast, lunch
and dinner to thank God as a family. Even if you can just spend time with them before they go to bed,
or when they wake up to pray. Seize every moment you can.

The book talks about, that we as parents, need to teach our children to become dependent on Christ. We
should give them examples of how sometimes you must take a leap of faith before we see any changes.
Trusting in Christ is paramount to our children’s faith sticking to them. It’s one of the cornerstone
philosophies that embodied Christ’s teachings.

Over the coming days, I’ll continue my discussion on Sticky Faith and how you can prepare your children
to face the challenges and enticements of this world.